opened a group home for older boys. This was the first group home in the community and was provided through the help of the Optimist Group Foundation. In the 1960s, both Porter-Leath Home and Children's Bureau were agencies supported by Shelby United Neighbors (S.U.N.). While the Children's Bureau placed children with foster families and provided casework for children in the home, Porter-Leath Home provided institutional care for children. In addition to receiving funding from S.U.N., Porter-Leath Home had an endowment fund. Interest from this fund, and a small amount of money collected from the families of the children, supplemented the funds allocated by S.U.N. Approximately one-third of the yearly budget set up for operational expenses came from the Home's own resources. Porter-Leath Continues to Renovate In the early 1960s, during the tenure of Mr. Paul Sawrie as Director, Porter-Leath Home again went through a long-term renovation and up-grade of their physical plant including: a remodeling of the inside of the old laundry building (which was situated east of the main building) into an up-to-date meeting hall for parents visiting children and the installation of a three-chair barbershop, a scout workroom, and modern restrooms for girls and boys. There was a black-topped parking area installed on the east side of the Annex Building as well as a smooth, black-topped basketball court. The athletic field was rearranged and re-graded with the assistance of the Public Works Department and the Memphis Park Commission. The playground equipment was rearranged and placed in a larger area of open ground and new swings were installed, also with the help of the Memphis Park Commission. During these improvements, the final appointments and decorations were furnished by the Exchange Club. Porter-Leath & the Children's Bureau First Merger Attempt As the needs in the community changed during the sixties, the Trustees of Porter-Leath Home and the Board of Children's Bureau began to look at other/better ways of serving children in need. For example, the Home's Director Paul Sawrie expressed concern that Porter-Leath needed a casework service to supplement its small-group system of child-care. In October 1960, a cooperative organizational plan was proposed between the two agencies. By 1961, the Consolidation Project, a promotion of S.U.N., outlined a merger between Porter-Leath and the Children's Bureau. As a result, a Porter-Leath-Children's Bureau Consolidation Committee was formed. Meetings and discussions in regard to consolidation lasted for almost a year, until Porter-Leath's Board